Will Montana Ever See One of These Top Grocery Stores?

There are times when I look forward to going to the grocery store, other times it can be more of a chore. It becomes a chore for me when I am at one store, but know they don't offer what I need at that store, so I end up having to go to multiple stores to complete my shopping.

When it comes to my local grocery stores, I have my favorites. But there isn't a large variety of choices in Montana. That is even more evident with this latest list of the "10 Best Grocery Stores in the U.S.", from US Today. None of the top grocery stores on the list have locations in Montana, yet.

The top chain is Hy-Vee grocery stores which are located mainly in the Midwest, but there are locations in South Dakota. There is another popular chain on the list, which Montanans have been hoping for, and that is Trader Joe's. They come in at number 8 on the list. They are the only chain on the list that I have been to. I am a big fan of their Almond Windmill Cookies.

There has been speculation for a long time about a Trader Joe's coming to Montana, there are Reddit threads dedicated to the topic. There is another chain on the list that is planning a very big expansion across the country. Aldi grocery stores, ranked at number 6 on the list, is planning on expanding by 800 stores across the country by the end of 2028. The expansion will be a combination of new stores and store conversions.

The other chains that made the list:

• 2. The Fresh Market
• 3. Heinen's Grocery Story
• 4. Stew Leonard's
• 5. Gelson's Markets
• 7. Publix Super Markets
• 9. Wegmans Food Markets
• 10. Fresh Thyme Market

For the time being none of these chains have stores in Montana, we can hope that we will see one or two of these chains make their way to our wonderful state in the near future.